Multi-Habitat Birding 23 Days- Uganda Safari

Day 1:
Arrival at Entebbe International Airport. Meet your local smiling guide and transfer to Imperial Botanical Hotel. If you arrive early enough, you will have a welcome birding afternoon around Entebbe Botanical Gardens. Watch out for the Brown throated waver, golden backed weaver, yellow backed weaver, grey headed gull, long tailed cormorant, common squacco heron, yellow billed duck, pied kingfisher, giant kingfisher, swamp flycatcher, broad billed roller, black and white casqued hornbill, splendid glossy starling, black headed gonolek, orange weaver, red chested sunbird, slender billed weaver, Ross’s turaco, pied hornbill, crowned hornbill, open billed stork, great red warbler, sedge warbler, grey caped warbler and many other species.
Dinner and overnight at Imperial Botanical Hotel.

Day 2:
Bird Lutembe Beach for the morning hours and later transfer to Masindi.
Dinner and overnight at Masindi Hotel.

Day 3:
After breakfast with packed lunch leave for Chimpanzee tracking and bird watching Kaniyo Pabidi. Proceed to Murchison Falls National Park National Park in the afternoon. Key species here are the majestic shoebill, secretary bird, bat hawk, red necked falcon, white crested turaco, Egyptian plover, Bruce’s pigeon, standard winged nightjar, Pel’s fishing owl, pennant winged nightjar, long tailed nightjar, carmine bee eater, brown backed woodpecker, spotted morning thrush, silver bird, swallow tailed bee eater, beautiful sunbird, bronze tailed starling, Northern red bishop, African black scimitarbill and many more.
Dinner and overnight at Paraa Uganda safari lodge.

Day 4:
Start early with a boat and bird the delta. Return to the lodge for lunch. Afternoon boat trip to the bottom of the falls for various wonderful water birds.
Dinner and overnight at Paraa Uganda safari lodge.

Day 5:
Morning game drive on the Northern bank of the River Nile and afternoon visit to the top of the falls. Dinner and overnight at Paraa safari lodge.

Day 6:
After breakfast depart for Budongo forest reserve and bird forest species. Birding the escarpment overlooking Lake Albert is rewarding. Dinner and overnight at Nabyeya guesthouse.

Day 7:
Whole day birding Royal mile and Busingiro sector. Dinner and overnight at Masindi Hotel.

Day 8:
Leave early for Kibale National park. Stopover for lunch in Fort portal. Kibale National Park. Kibale N.P is a rainy forest and a home to over 9 different species of primates. Some of these include chimpazees, red colobus monkeys, grey checked mangaby, red tailed monkeys and galagos. The forest is also home to scaly francolins, marsh tchagra, black bellied seed cracker, green backed twinspot, Bicoloured manikin, white napped pigeon, Afep pigeon, Narina’s trogon, joyful greenbul, olive long tailed cuckoo, the superb black bee eater and many more. An afternoon nature walk at Bigodi wetland will yield species like Blue headed coucal, blue breasted kingfisher, scaly throated honey guide, black faced rufous wabler and others. Dinner and overnight at Mantana luxury tented camp or Ndali lodge.

Day 9:
Whole day birding in the forest and chimp tracking. Dinner and overnight at Mantana luxury tented camp or Ndali lodge

Day 10:
Bird Bigodi wetland in the morning, with packed lunch leave for Semuliki forest. This is a moist semi-ciduous forest and a home to sport breasted ibis, Northern bearded scrub robin, capuchin babbler, lyre tailed honey guide, yellow throated green cuckoo, white bellied kingfisher, Maxwell’s black weaver, black winged oriole, red eyed puff back, red bellied malimbe, Zenker’s honey guide, African piculet and many more species. Dinner and overnight at Semuliki lodge.

Day 11:
Whole day birding in the Semuliki forest. Dinner and overnight at Semuliki Uganda Safari lodge.

Day 12:
Morning birding in the Semuliki forest Reserve, afternoon visit to the Volcano looking Sempaya hot springs. Relax as you watch water do its magic like “there is no tomorrow” Dinner and overnight at Semuliki lodge.

Day 13:
At the break of the day, start off for Imaramagambo forest west of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Key species include dark capped yellow warbler, fawn breasted waxbill, black headed batis, Brubru sulphur breasted bush shrike, Eurasian golden oriole, bat hawk, red tailed bristle bill, green crombec, black and white flycatcher, brown eared wood pecker, redheaded bluebill, African hobby, African green pigeon, Ross’s turaco, African fin foot. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.

Day 14:
Whole day birding. Afternoon enjoy birding along Kazinga channel on boat. Kazinga channel joins Lake Edward and Lake George, which gives it a wonderful site in a lovely environment with its various beautiful water birds along the channel.
Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge.

Day 15:
Transfer Southwards to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park through the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth N.P in Ishasha where there are chances of seeing the tree-climbing lions. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is home to the forest giants that are cousins to human beings, the gorillas. This Impenetrable Forest is still one of the best virgin tropical rain forests in East Africa. Birding begins early in the morning with the early risers at the Luxury bush camp. After breakfast with our packed lunch we set off for the whole birding. This forest has over 300 bird species recorded. These include among other forest rarities, red throated alethe, equatorial akalat, forest robin, montane oriole, grey throated barbet, hairy breasted barbet, African broadbill, black bee eater, pale breasted illadopsis, Narina’s trogon, Pettit’s cuckoo shrike and black faced rufous warbler. Please note that this forest receives rainfall almost all year round, a raincoat and hiking shoes with a good tract are appropriate.
Dinner and overnight at the Luxury bush camp.

Day 16:
After breakfast, with packed lunch, whole day birding in the forest. Dinner and overnight at the Luxury bush camp.

Day 17:
Many bird watchers who have been to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest before have shown interest ion tracking gorillas. Have this optional day for that activity. Carry packed lunch and enjoy the giant forest primates in their jungle. Dinner and overnight at the Luxury bush camp.

Day 18:
Birding Buhoma sector. Dinner and overnight at Buhoma community Bandas.

Day19:
Depart at the crack of dawn for a 50km drive to the highest peak of the forest- Ruhija. Several checks at the rare bird spots may produce rare species such as white starred robin, grey cuckoo shrike, strange weaver, banded prinia, brown chested alethe, slender billed greenbull, yellow streaked greenbull, white browned crombec, mountain illadopsis, Luehder’s bush shrike, grey bush shrike, grey green bush shrike; all these and many others are among the 345 species recorded in this park. Birding to the Mubwindi swamp is very rewarding. One has to be prepared to walk on steep mountains. You drop from 2400m to 2050m above sea level. Birding in the bamboo zone is good for handsome francolin, archers robin chat, stripe breasted tit, purple breasted sunbird, mountain greenbull, duikers, wallers, chestnut winged starling, dusky crimsonwing, mountain illadopsis, mountain yellow warbler to mention a few. Birders who come with camping equipment can camp at Ruhija campground.

Day 20&21:
Birding days at Ruhija. Dinner and overnight at Ruhija campground.

Day 22:
Return journey back to Kampala, lunch in Mbarara and it time allows shopping for African crafts and souvenirs. Dinner and overnight at Imperial Botanical Hotel.

Day23: Departure